How many times do we hear this statement, and think nothing of it? And then suddenly the whole world experiences a global pandemic and we suddenly find our whole lives being flipped upside down. Scrambling to make some sense of what is happening and clinging to the things we find most important. Or at least what we have thought to be most important. How many of us have now been reassessing what matters in life? Perhaps taking a silent inventory of the beliefs we once held to be true, and questioning whether they are actually true, or have simply been programmed into us from the society we live in.
Although we are not out of the woods yet, things have gone back to a new sense of normal in many parts of the world. Here in New Zealand, I find myself with the freedom to travel around and explore this beautiful country. Seemingly back on track to what I was doing post lockdown. But something has shifted. Because although it may seem to some that I have been going with the flow of life, this pandemic has shown me just how much I cling to my plans and expectations of how my adventures unfold. My grand plan was to travel back to Canada to connect with family, head to Bali for a yin yoga training, come back through New Zealand to finish up some travels before heading to Australia to see friends...what a massive year it was going to be. Until flights were cancelled and countries closed their borders. And I found myself floundering without a plan, having a bit of a meltdown, until I sat down to journal and ask myself what the lesson could be in this all.
"Go with the flow" was all that kept coming up for me. So I decided to jump back in Lucy and go on a road trip here in New Zealand. Determined to catch the last of the good weather before winter settled in, I hopped over to the north island without a plan and determined to follow my intuition and the synchronicities as they came. Without fail, the universe has provided in ways I couldn't have even imagined. Falling in love on Waiheke Island, connecting with the sweetest souls, and learning so many lessons along the way, the adventures have been beyond my wildest imagination. I literally couldn't have planned it better, or made any of it up.
Perhaps I'll share a few of the adventures and kind humans I've met along the way...or else you'll just have to wait for the book to be published one day. Either way, I am so grateful I sat down and asked myself what my lesson was during this challenging time. Although we cannot always control the circumstances in our lives, we can control our mindset and how we choose to deal with them. Or as one of my most loved mentors Viktor Frankl said "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
I am so grateful I chose to let go of the control and expectations of what I wanted this year to be. Being in resistance was much more challenging, and wouldn't have led to where I am now, sitting on a beautiful beach listening to the waves crash on the ocean after spending a day in the mountains. It has forever changed me, and although I know it will take practice, I'm fully embracing this new way of living life.